The Hospital
by TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Summary: One shot. Raven winds up in the hospital and her friends rush to her side.


The windshield wipers on the T-Car swished back and forth, repeating like a metronome. It was a night fit neither for man nor beast as the icy winter storm dumped its contents on Jump City. The Titan's signature vehicle sped down Martin Luther King Blvd into the downtown area. The streets were quiet even though it was still early in the evening, as most of the people who would normally be downtown had long since left for their suburban homes after putting in a day's work at the office in one of the many high rise buildings that rose from the city's center.

Cyborg was behind the wheel of his "baby", guiding it down the solitary rain slick street. As he approached an intersection the light turned red and the car came to a halt. The tin man began to tap his mechanical fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

"C'mon, turn green … I don't have all night." He grumbled. Losing his patience, he said: "This is ridiculous; we're the only ones here."

In an uncharacteristic display of civil disobedience, Cyborg stepped on the accelerator and ran through the seeming never ending red light. His two passengers, Nightwing and Starfire, said nothing of his illegal maneuver. Nightwing stared passively through the windshield, seemingly oblivious to both the wipers and the red light. Starfire sat in the back seat, her arms crossed and her eyes closed while drumming her own fingers on her arm.

The night had started pleasantly enough, well as pleasant as any night with near freezing rain could be. It had been a long week, with a many trivial if not tedious missions. Mostly run of the mill stuff, like bank robberies and jewelry store heists. No supervillains were involved and that at least kept things simple.

Lightning flashed overhead as Cyborg continued to drive. Nightwing knew that the storm would keep the petty thieves away for the day and he gave the team the day off to rest. He even treated everyone to dinner that night. Raven and Beast Boy declined the offer, saying that given the weather they'd rather stay home. Starfire of course accepted her boyfriend's offer and Cyborg would never allow a freezing typhoon come between him a free meal at a good restaurant.

They were just finishing their meal when Nightwing received a text message from Beast Boy on his comminicator. It was a short message, going straight to the point. It simply said "I'm taking Rae to the hospital".

As the T-Car flew down the street the city's main hospital loomed in the distance. At the top of the building the words "Jump City Central Hospital" glimmered in a soothing blue color.

The Titans of course had a well stocked infirmary at the Tower, but there were some procedures they weren't equipped nor trained to handle. Cyborg could do wonders but he was neither a doctor nor a surgeon. For cases that were beyond his training they had an arrangement with the central hospital, which over the years had built up stock piles of the unique blood types that flowed through Starfire's, Raven's and Beast Boy's veins, hoping that they would never be needed.

After what felt like an eternity Cyborg pulled the car into the hospital's multistory parking garage and parked it. The three heroes, who now all sported worried expressions on their faces, egressed from the car.

"Oh! I am so worried! I hope that our friend is the OK." Starfire whined as they ran down the parking garage stairwell.

"I'm sure she's just fine." Nightwing replied in a tone that was so unconvincing that it was obvious to all that he didn't believe his own words.

"When we first became a team I never imagined that something like this could ever happen." Cyborg remarked as they emerged from the stairwell.

"I said Raven's gonna be fine." Nightwing snarled as the stopped in front of the reception desk, where a woman who looked very bored was reading a magazine.

Nightwing cleared his throat and the woman looked up at him. She immediately recognized them.

"She's on the fourth floor; the elevators are over there and …"

Nightwing took off running, followed by his comrades.

"… follow the signs." The woman completed her sentence, before returning to her magazine.

After suffering the elevator slow ride to the fourth floor the doors opened and the three Titans burst out of the lift. They indeed followed the signs and after running they found themselves at the nurse's station. The nurse in charge gave them a look that said "may I help you?"

"Is Raven OK?" The Boy Wonder asked.

The nurse gave them a curious look. It wasn't everyday she had famous superheroes at her desk. If fact, it had never happened before.

"Are you family?" She calmly asked.

Nightwing paused before answering. "We're the closest thing she has to a family."

The nurse, a matronly woman with eyeglasses, sighed.

"So, you're not relatives, legal relatives?"

"Well, I suppose not." Nightwing replied meekly. "Is she OK?"

The nurse adjusted her glasses before replying.

"There hasn't been any update on her status. That's all I can tell you."

"Unacceptable!" Starfire shouted, gesturing with her index finger. "I, Starfire, princess of the house Tamaran, demand to see my friend Raven at this very instant!"

The nurse gave the alien a harsh look.

"Will you please be quiet; this is a hospital, in case you have forgotten. And I don't care if you're the Queen of England; if you aren't family you can't see her at this time."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Nightwing complained.

"The waiting room is over there. I'll call you when she is ready to see you."

"And when will that be?" Starfire harrumphed.

"I don't know." The nurse replied in a deadpan that was eerily reminiscent of Raven's gravelly monotone. "You'll have to wait … in the waiting room."

The three heroes trudged dejectedly into the nearby waiting room, which had no other occupants other than themselves. A TV was playing, tuned to some inane cooking show. Cyborg reluctantly picked up the clicker that was chained to a coffee table and began to channel surf. Starfire wandered off to a large picture window, and stared sadly into the wet night outside as the raindrops pounded against the glass.

Nightwing began to pace around the room, like a wild animal trapped in a cage, one that was seeking a way out when there wasn't one.

"Stupid rules." The boy wonder seethed under his breath.

Cyborg shut off the TV, placing the clicker back on the coffee table.

"It's the law Rob. Their hands are tied. They could be held liable if they allowed strangers to …"

"We aren't strangers! We're her family! Maybe not legally, but we are!"

"Yo Rob, chill. Raven's our sister, I know that, Star knows that, and you know that … but … we're just gonna have to wait."

Nightwing picked up the clicker and turned the TV back on and began to surf absentmindedly. Staring at its screen, he replied.

"I know Cy, I know. I just hate having to wait. Not knowing if she's OK … it's frustrating."

He turned to the Tin Man.

"You should get some more training, so you can handle things like this back at the Tower." Nightwing blurted out. "I hate being dependent on outsiders and their rules."

Cyborg raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"No way. I'll set broken bones, make antidotes for weird toxins … but this … no way man … I ain't touching it. I'll leave this one to trained professionals."

Nightwing snorted. "Coward."

"Hey! I don't see you volunteering to train to do this."

"Stop!" The princess shrieked. "Enough with the fighting! Raven would be most unhappy to know you are behaving like this."

"I think she has other things on her mind right now, Star." Nightwing lamented. "And right now I wish I did know how to handle a situation like this."

Their conversation was interrupted by the matronly nurse, who appeared at the door and cleared her throat to get their attention.

"You may see your friend now. She's in room 4223."

The three heroes bolted out of the waiting room and rushed down the hallway, stopping at the door labeled 4223. A paper sign on the door had "R Logan" scribbled on it. Nightwing knocked on the door, which was opened immediately.

A beaming green changeling greeted them. "Dudes! You're already here!"

Starfire was literally bouncing with anticipation. "Beast Boy! Has everything gone well? Is Raven the OK?"

He chuckled. "She's doing great. Come on in guys, there's someone we want you to meet."

The three Titans cautiously followed the changeling into the room. Raven was resting in a hospital bed, with its back raised so that she was in a sitting position. She looked sweaty and tired, but had the most radiant smile they had ever seen on her. In her arms she was holding a grey skinned baby with a tuft of green hair on her scalp. Beast Boy leaned over and kissed his wife, looking very proud and pleased with her. The sorceress greeted her friends with her usual gravelly voice.

"Starfire, Nightwing, Cyborg, I'd like to introduce you to our daughter, our firstborn, Coraline Logan."

The End

I have no idea where that came from. I hope I didn't bore you.


End file.
